Save Your Spine Save an Animal

YPW Member, Dr. Mike Stanley with Dopps Chiropractic is proud to be holding a fundraiser to benefit the Kansas Humane Society of Wichita this Summer! During the months of May, June, and July, Dr. Mike will be offering a Chiropractic exam, consultation, and any x-rays (if needed) for a $25 donation to the Kansas Humane Society. This is regularly a $250 value! If you are suffering from any of these conditions listed below, give us a call and set up an appointment today. Not only will you be taking control of your own health, but you will be donating to a tremendous organization! Save an animal by saving your spine!

 Chiropractic can help with:
• Headaches
• Neck Pain
• Low Back Pain
• Sciatica
• Upper extremity pain (shoulder/elbow/wrist)
• Lower Extremity Pain (hip/knee/ankle/foot)
• Pain between shoulders
• Osteoarthritis
• Disc Problems
• Carpal Tunnel

Save Your Spine, Save an Animal!

Call 316-685-4965 to set up your appointment.

Meet a Member - Sarah Goertz

Meet YPW Member, Sarah Goertz.  Sarah is a member of the YPW Board of Trustees and is the Chair of the Community Relations Action Team. 

Sarah Goertz is a Web marketing specialist for Hawker Beechcraft Corporation. Before landing her dream job, Sarah served as marketing coordinator for Geotechnical Services, Inc. (GSI), a geotechnical engineering and environmental consulting firm. She has also worked as a marketing specialist, journalist, graphic designer and Web designer for more than eight years.

Sarah began her career as a feature writer for a mid-size newspaper in Tyler, Texas, went on to serve as communications coordinator for a $10 million non-profit organization and worked as associate director of marketing for the first for-profit medical university in the country. Her two degrees, one in journalism and the other in digital media, give her the unique ability to create impactful communications through both print and interactive online mediums.


Education
B.S., Mulitmedia Journalism
Oklahoma State University

A.A.S., Digital Media
Butler County Community College

Professional Affiliations
• KETCH Community Council
     o Board Member (Feb. 2006 to April 2007)

• Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS)
     o Program Director (March 2008 - Present)

• Young Professionals of Wichita
     o Community Relations Committee Member (May 2009 – Nov. 2009)
     o Community Relations Chair (Nov. 2009 – Present)

• Mentoring a Girl in Construction (MAGIC) Camp
     o Committee Member (Feb. 2009 – Present)

• RiverCity WRAPS – Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy
     o Executive Leadership Team (April 2010 – Present)

• City of Maize Planning Commission
     o Member (May 2009 – Present)

Politcal Awareness Update

In 2010, YPW began a series of events that bring awareness to the importance of our local and state government. Our goals are to educate our members on the roles of city, county and state officials, create knowledgeable YPs who will get out and vote, and provide a non-partisan view on local issues that affect YPs and the Wichita community.



After 90 days and six hours, the Kansas Legislature officially adjourned at 6:00 am last Friday morning. The session proved to be fairly productive for business interests as well as social conservatives.

Major reforms were achieved on unemployment taxation and the worker’s compensation system. In addition, Governor Sam Brownback won approval from the legislature on all of his “Road Map for Kansas” economic initiatives, including his expensing plan and rural economic development zones. The Promoting Employment Across Kansas program (PEAK) was successfully tweaked for a third year in a row and now allows for forgiveness of personal income taxes for S-Corp and LLCs that relocate to Kansas.

Most of these issues had received major focus throughout the session, but didn’t find resolution until the final week. That’s not unusual in an environment where every issue is a possible bargaining chip for one Chamber or the other. It is not uncommon for agreements to be reached on a policy matter only to see official voting held up by one Chamber in attempt to force their counterparts to accept another policy position on unrelated legislation. It is a chess game that the Senate usually wins and while the House got better at the game this year, especially on the budget, the Senate still outmaneuvered the House on many issues.

The budget was the major point of contention the entire session. The session started with a speech from the Governor highlighting the criticality of the legislature passing a rescission bill and getting it to his desk by the end of January. With the state facing a $500M shortfall, the Governor wanted cuts to the FY2011 budget in order to help balance the budgets for this year and next. Neither Chamber passed bills in time to meet that deadline and then negotiations between the two Chambers on the bill just stalled. No rescission bill was ever passed and the Governor eventually had to use his allotment authority to balance this year’s budget. It was not a good start and it was sign of what was to come on budget matters and discussions between the two Chambers.

As the session entered day 89 of the 90-day session, and after over 20 rounds of bargaining between the House and Senate, a budget agreement was finally reached and was readied for consideration by the full legislature. The FY2012 budget cut nearly $50M in state general fund spending, but the cuts to agencies and especially public schools was much larger due the absence of federal stimulus dollars that had been backfilling state money for the last two years. It was a Republican only approved budget and not a single Democrat in either Chamber voted for the budget. Democrats were unwilling to support the budget due to cuts to schools and social service programs. In the House, some staunch conservative Republicans refused to support the budget because they felt the budget did not cut enough.

The final budget spends nearly $14B all funds, including state and federal monies. The state general fund budget is just over $6B and leaves a projected ending balance of $70M, well below the required 7.5% which would be $450M.

Even in good years budgets have winners and losers. In a tough budget year there are understandably more losers and those losses tend to be even more painful. Some longstanding state agencies were either eliminated or folded into larger agencies. KTECH and the Pipeline program were eliminated and while the Kansas Arts Commission and Public Broadcasting were funded by the legislature, the Governor has promised to use his line item veto authority to zero-out their funding. Public broadcasting will probably survive, though they will face significant challenges. The Kansas Arts Commission will not. In fact, it appears that June 10 is the effective end date for the Commission. Schools also faced significant cuts, although legislation was passed that allows them to use funds previously allocated for other uses.

There were some notable hard fought wins for south-central Kansas however. The Kansas Affordable Airfares Program was renewed and NIAR, NCAT, and CIBOR were all funded for the next budget year. The Equus Bed Recharge project was also funded, and Wichita State, KU and K-State will receive extra money to increase programs for engineering students.

KPERS
During the Veto Session the Legislature passed a bill creating a commission to study and develop a long term plan to address the $7.7B unfunded liability for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement Program (KPERS). The bill also requires public employees to choose between paying a higher percentage of their salaries into the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System or having future benefits cut. The measure commits the state to increasing its annual contributions to KPERS starting in July 2013.

Unemployment
During the session two different plans emerged for reforming the Kansas Unemployment System. The fund is broke and money had to be borrowed from the feds in order to make unemployment payments. The plans were similar in that both reinstated the waiting week and created six new rate classes, basically for negatively balanced employers. The key difference was the Senate plan would increase the taxable wage base from $8K to $11K over three years. Although it would cost employers in the short term, increasing the wage base saves positively balanced employers millions in federal interest payments. The House refused the increase and left the taxable wage base at $8K.

In a final conference committee meeting, the House offered to accept the Senate plan, but in return the Senate would be required to accept the House-only passed Payroll Protection Act. This is the legislation that would prohibit unions from automatically deducting money from member’s paychecks for anything political. The legislation was popular in the House and became personal for House leadership after union members loudly interrupted the House of Representatives during voting on the measure.

In a bold move, Sen. Terry Bruce (R) Hutchinson, described as “shooting the hostage”, the Senate entertained and passed a motion to concur with the original House passed unemployment legislation. The original House legislation was simply unemployment and did not contain Payroll Protection. That means the bill is headed to the Governor without the increase in the taxable wage base.

Work Comp
Kansas business had long awaited some reforms to Worker’s Compensation laws. The legislation is the result of deliberation and extensive negotiation between labor and business representatives. The final version of the legislation improves the Kansas business climate, increasing our competitiveness with surrounding states and ensuring injured workers receive the care and benefits they need. The reform package passed the Senate 37 to 0 and the House 120 to 0. The Governor signed the bill into law in Wichita.

Taxation and Business Development
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback campaigned on creating jobs and growing the Kansas economy. His primary plans for accomplishing these goals centered on creating rural economic zones. If people from outside Kansas move to counties with decreasing populations and create jobs, they could forgo personal income tax and even have their student loans paid by the state and the county in which they locate. The other key to the Governor’s economic plan was the ability for businesses to expense 100% of capital investment in year one for tax purposes.

Things got a little complicated for the new administration when businesses across the state balked at the elimination of tax credits known as High Performance Incentive Program (HPIP). The Governor, looking to pay for his expensing plan and deal closing fund, put HPIP on the chopping block. In addition to HPIP elimination, the Governor’s plan also proposed eliminating the only retention tool available to the Department of Commerce. The session was barley underway when the Governor and his administration realized that the total elimination of HPIP posed a political cost that was too high for the comfort of legislators (and business).

In the end, a very beneficial and productive compromise was reached. The Governor would get his expensing plan, HPIP would remain, although slightly changed, and the PEAK program would be tweaked to allow for retention. The contents of the compromise are contained in SB 193 and SB196. The links below are to the final conference committee reports for the legislation.

Politics of the Session
Political junkies are fond of saying elections have consequences. Depending on your point of view, those consequences are either positive or negative, but no one would disagree that the last election had major consequences. The state has a conservative Governor for the first time in a very long time. The Senate which has been in charge for quite some time lost just a little bit of its moderate steam and a fair amount of its power. While the Senate is still firmly controlled by moderate Republicans, it now has more conservatives. That has left them a bit uncomfortable.

The House coalition, made up of moderate Republicans and Democrats (forming a majority), has been relegated to the status of irrelevant. Conservatives clearly rule the House, and after two frustrating years of seeing his proposals dead on arrival in his own Chamber, House Speaker Mike O’Neal is clearly the second most powerful man in Kansas next to Governor Sam Brownback.

What does it all mean? Well, for next session, look for both Chambers to send each other those highly political and uncomfortable election year “gotcha” bills that require a great deal of squirming and nose-holding before casting a vote. Despite the fact there is no public service announcement against it, there is nothing more addicting than political power, and for the next year and a half there will be an epic battle in Kansas for that power.

The Walking Theme Trails Come to Life

On each Final Friday of the month from 6 PM to 8:30 PM from May to September the Trails will come to life. On the chosen Final Friday each museum will present a free sidewalk celebration of entertainment along their Trail.

1. Final Friday

May 27th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

The Exploration

Trail Exploration Place volunteers will give walkers clues to solve a “crime,” getting a taste of crime scene investigation (CSI) techniques. This Final Friday Museum Mystery is all part of the national traveling exhibit, CSI: The Experience, opening at Exploration Place on Saturday, May 28.

2a. Final Friday
June 24th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Art Trail
Kansas artists creating really cool art right on the Art Trail. The Wichita Art Museum will feature artists from all over Kansas. Among the featured artists will be former Wichita native Jordan Tarrant. Jordan paints using words to create his murals. Jordan will paint a mural of William Shakespeare using the 52 words and 47 phrases that Shakespeare invented. Dave Burk donated the use of a building wall in Old Town for the mural.

2b. Final Friday
June 24th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
American Indian
Trail This Trail will feature the sights and sounds of the Indian Culture. The Mid-America All-Indian Center will welcome both singers and drums to the Trail. The Museum will be open from 6PM to 8PM that evening should the walkers wish to immerse themselves in the Art of the Plains Indians.

3a. Final Friday 
July 29th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Magic Trail (Haysville)
The Magic Trail in Haysville will present the Wizards of Wichita. The Wizards are part of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The Wizards will be sure to entertain, amuse and confound walkers of all ages. The Wizards promise not to make the Trail or any of the walkers disappear, everything else is fair game.

3b. Final Friday
July 29th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm 
Poets Trail
The Wichita Poets Trail will present Wichita Poets who are competing in the Poetry Slam National Competition in Cambridge MA. The Poets will be reciting at the Pavilions at WaterWalk from 6PM to 8:30PM.

4. Final Friday
August 26th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
African American Trail
The African American Museum will present a Kansas Idol contest for Jazz, R&B, Rap, Gospel and Story Telling. Great music has always been the calling card of for not only the African American community in Kansas but also for Kansans state wide. Why not celebrate this great tradition by bringing the best modern day performers from all over Kansas to compete to see who is the greatest of them all.

5. Final Friday
September 30th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Sports Trail
The Sports Trail will feature interactive events along the Sports Trail. How would you like to compete against a legendary Kansas college quarterback throwing a ball threw a hanging tire or match free throws against former great college basketball players? Or you may just want to talk with former Kansas sports hero’s to ask them about what made them great. This event leads up to the Kansas Sports Hall Of fame Induction ceremony which will be held on October 2nd.

8. Final Friday
September 30th, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Tallgrass Film Festival Trail
The Tallgrass Association will present a course on how to make a movie along the Tallgrass Film Festival Trail. Filmmakers will line the Trail to teach walkers various tricks and techniques about how to use their I Phones, video cameras or any other devise that takes video to make a movie! No longer will your friends and family have to sit through boring videos of your vacations or family outings because now you will be able to dazzle them with your movie making skills. The walker will learn various elements of filmmaking, from storyboarding, to edit tricks, to learning different apps that allow everyone to become a filmmaker---their own film might even show up in the next addition of the Tallgrass Film Festival! The Trail presentation leads up to the 9th annual Festival which will be held from October 20th-23rd, where aspiring filmmakers of all ages can see more than 100 independent films from all over the world and even discuss the craft with guest filmmakers.

The Mayors’ and chairman’s challenge
In order to prove to the nation that we really do love to walk, Mayor Carl Brewer of Wichita, Chairman Dave Unruh of Sedgwick County and Mayor Ken Hampton of Haysville have created The Mayors’ and Chairman’s Challenge. Go to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WalktheTrails to register the number of Trails and miles that you have walked from May 18th to September 30th. There will be recognition for the individuals, organizations and groups that walk all the Trails.

Political Awareness Update

In 2010, YPW began a series of events that bring awareness to the importance of our local and state government. Our goals are to educate our members on the roles of city, county and state officials, create knowledgeable YPs who will get out and vote, and provide a non-partisan view on local issues that affect YPs and the Wichita community.

The Kansas Legislature worked through week two of Veto Session and went home today planning to return Monday for week three. Progress thus far has been slow and at times painful, but it is progress none the less. The annual Veto Session is usually a “stop and go” exercise with plenty of waiting in between and this wrap-up session seems to have more stopping than going. A few agreements have been reached by conference committees, but even some of those are on hold from final action votes as one Chamber attempts to force the other to take action on unrelated legislation.

The budget, however, is the big roadblock and both teams of negotiators have reached a high level of frustration. The House and Senate, both having passed budgets, began trying to reconcile differences last week on about 250 disagreements. 250 is an extraordinary number of differences. The key difference appears to be the final ending balance. While the House is pushing for an ending balance of least $60M, the Senate seems comfortable with between $7 -10M. The House is the more conservative of the two Chambers and House Appropriations Chair Marc Rhoades believes that anything below a 1% ending balance is too dangerous. Senate Ways and Means Chair Carolyn McGinn, on the other hand, says she too is concerned with the ending balance, but she believes additional cuts would be too devastating to local government, schools and safety net programs.

The House and the Senate have approximately 80 differences remaining, including the ending balance. Offers have been exchanged which include the Kansas Affordable Airfares Program, but no agreement has been reached yet.

Next Wednesday, May 11, marks the 90th day of session. Legislative secretaries packed up and went home today and legislative salaries run out after day 90. Entrenched disagreements tend to wane just a little when legislators are answering their own phones and trying to figure out how the coffee maker works and doing it all pro bono.


Conference Committee Report on SB 193 passed the House yesterday 107-10. It now heads to the Senate Monday. SB 193 contains a six year HPIP extension/recertification simplification and the following PEAK provisions:
• Creates additional opportunities for existing Kansas companies by increasing the $4.8 million cap for in-state expansions to $6 million.
• Allows new Sub-S companies to be forgiven their personal income tax liabilities by moving to Kansas, creating a major incentive without costing the state fiscally.

Conference Committee Report on Substitute to SB 196: Governor’s HPIP/expensing/Deal Closing fund bill (SB 196) will be run on the House floor next week after the Senate passes the above referenced Conference Committee Report (CCR) to SB 193.


House and Senate conferees had basically boiled the differences down to the increase in the taxable wage base for unemployment insurance premiums. The House had refused to increase the base to $11K as the Senate had done. That increase is the lesser of two evils. While it will cost business more, it will not cost business as much as raising it and then owing the feds nearly $480M in additional interests payments beginning in 2014. The House made a final offer to the Senate yesterday, taking the Senate position on the increase, but also coupling the Paycheck Protection Act into the final version of the bill. Paycheck Protection is the act that says unions cannot collect monies for PACs through automatic payroll deductions.


HB 2134, signed by Governor Brownback on April 18, will bring sweeping changes to the work comp laws in Kansas. To help educate members, the Kansas State Chamber has scheduled a series of seminars across the state in partnership with the Kansas Society of Human Resource Management (KS SHRM) and the Kansas Self Insurers Association (KSIA) to update employers and HR professionals on these significant changes. Registration Fee: $75 for KS Chamber, KS SHRM and KSIA members and $125 for non-members. For information or to RSVP, please call Eric Stafford at (785) 357-6321.
Seminar Dates:
Friday, May 13 – Wichita
10:00 am
Room 126, Clinton Hall
Wichita State University

Friday, May 20 - Topeka

Friday, May 27 - Salina

Friday, June 3 - Kansas City

The first seminar will be held in Wichita on Friday, May 13, at 10:00 AM. The location is room 126 Clinton Hall on the Wichita State University campus. This session will be led by Tony Andersen with McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, P.A., one of the attorneys involved in negotiations with labor which resulted in the product of House Bill 2134.

Andersen will offer in-depth analysis into the changes to Kansas work comp law, including the new prevailing factor test, reversal of the Bergstrom decision and new notice requirements for both employers and employees to name a few.

For more information or to register, download the informational flyer.

2011 40 Under 40

Congratulations to all the YPW Members selected for the Wichita Business Journal's 2011 40 Under 40 Class! We're so proud to have so many oustanding members.

Brandon Baker -- The Carnahan Group
Stephanie Bowen -- Flint Hills Resources LP
Karla Campbell -- Spirit AeroSystems Inc
Ginger Farney -- Ernst & Young
Chad Glenn -- Shelden Architecture
Katie Grover -- Heartspring
Christopher Howell -- UMB Bank NA
Susan Johnson -- IMA of Kansas
Todd Lewis -- University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita
Jesse McCurry -- Kennedy and Coe LLC
Mark Schemlzle -- Allen, Gibbs & Houlik LC
Jennifer Szambecki-Benninga -- Greteman Group
Dr. Kimberly Taylor -- Wichita Clinic
Candace Wilson -- Geotechnical Services Inc.

Introducing the 2011

YP’s make big contributions to Wichita – it’s time to celebrate all that we do!

The first annual YPW Awards will be presented at Founders’ Day 2011, Friday, July 29. We want to recognize the outstanding contributions that our members make to the Wichita community and we need your help! Please review the 2011 YPW Awards categories and if you know a member that deserves – nominate them! We want to hear from YOU – these awards are to celebrate our YPW members that go above and beyond the call of duty to make Wichita a better place to work, play and live.

Distinguished Young Professional Award (two will be awarded):
Presented to a YPW member who has reached personal and/or professional achievements in their career, has positively impacted their communities, and shows promise for continued success.

YPW Community Service Award:
Presented to a YPW member who is distinguished by their record of service to their community. They have engaged in continuing efforts to preserve and promote Wichita through their time, service, and talents.

YPW Innovations in Business Award:
Presented to a YPW Member who has made a unique or especially noteworthy contribution to their business, a YP who has reinvigorated or modernized a business, or a YP who has successfully started their own business. Special consideration will be given to those nominated for contributions that are designed to attract and retain young talent to Wichita in some way or provide a service uniquely designed to appeal to YP’s.

Additional recognition will be given to one business for a Young Professionals Choice Award and our Outstanding Corporate Investor of the Year.

Any YPW member may nominate any business for the Young Professionals Choice Award, and nominations will be reviewed with three finalists selected by the Board of Trustees. Finalists will be emailed out to YPW members, who will vote on the winner. Nominees are expected to be companies that excel in their efforts to attract, retain and develop young professionals in the Wichita community.

The Award for Outstanding Corporate Investor of the Year will be presented to a YPW corporate investor that has shown continued support for YPW, its programs, and the Wichita community. YPW Staff will select the finalists for this award and the Board of Trustees will vote on the winner. (Those Board of Trustees members employed by any finalist company will be excluded from the voting process.)

In addition to these awards, we will also recognize each Action Team’s Volunteer of the Year to honor the exceptional individuals responsible for planning YPW’s extensive programming, and the YPW Commitment Award will be presented.

Finalists will be announced prior to Founders’ Day on July 29, so watch the YPW Newsletter and Blog for these special announcements!

Please click here for the brief nomination form! Nominations are due by May 25. Forms can be returned to Heather Denker: hdenker@wichitachamber.org or faxed to 265-7502.

Individual YPW awards applications will be reviewed by the YPW Awards Selection Panel. This panel consists of YPW’s Board of Trustees Chair, Past Chair and Chair Elect, YPW’s Community Advisors and a representative from the Chamber of Commerce. Selection will be moderated by YPW Staff. (If excessive numbers of applications are received, a panel of YPW volunteers and YPW Staff will narrow the selections) Consideration will be given to the exact criteria of the award as well as activities in the spirit of YPW’s Mission. All awards require that the nominee have been a YPW Member for at least three consecutive months prior to nomination.



Arkansas River Trash Roundup

It's that time of year again! Join Cargill, Ducks Unlimited and the City of Wichita for the River Trash Roundup to help get the river ready for Riverfest. The event is on May 7th from 9am to noon. Check in and register at the south end of the Lawrence-Dumont Stadium Parking Lot.

Cargill will be providing participants with an event t-shirt and is inviting all the volunteers to a post-cleanup cookout back at the check-in station.

The event is registered with American Rivers as part of the “National River Cleanup” initiative. The National River Cleanup is providing the bags for the event.

Groups of volunteers – such as those associated with a business, school or university, club, church or scout group – may want to “adopt” one of clean-up sites for the event. If a group adopts a site, that group’s participants will all start in that location. Visit the City of Wichita's Website for more information.


Here's a look at the past year's stats:

• On May 1, 2010, 487 bags of trash were collected totaling 2.81 tons (5,620 lbs) of trash. A record 600 volunteers turned out for the event.
• On May 2, 2009, 517 bags of trash were collected totaling 2.1 tons (4200 lbs) of trash.
• On May 3, 2008, 176 bags of trash were collected totaling 0.76 tons of trash.
• On May 5, 2007, 171 bags of trash were collected totaling 1.64 tons of trash.
• On May 6, 2006, 95 bags of trash were collected totaling 1.72 tons of trash.
• On October 22, 2005, 90 bags of trash were collected totaling 1.18 tons of trash.

Tunes on the Tarmac 2011

YPW has been invited to one of the best parties in Wichita; Tunes on the Tarmac.  This year's Tunes on the Tarmac, Tunes with a Twist will be held on May 14th from 6:30pm - 11pm at the Jabara Airport.  The party features a Sterling Silver tenderloin dinner, open bar, and dancing to a live band. Fabulous Silent and Live Auction items include: a weekend getaway to colorado, concert tickets, artwork and more.

This is a benefit for Arts Partners, a nonprofit organization, igniting the full creative potential of all young people.  YPW members are invited to attend at a discounted rate of $85 ($60 tax deductible).  For more information on the event or about Arts Partners call 316-262-4771, email info@artspartnerswichita.org, or visit their website: tunesonthetarmac.org.